Dr. Anthony Fauci is not holding back when it comes to weighing in on his fiery exchange with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) during a hearing this week.

Paul confronted Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, during Thursday’s Senate hearing about why people should continue to wear masks even after they get vaccinated for COVID-19 or have recovered from the virus, as IJR reported on.

Fauci was labeled “the better mind” in the “mask off” during his interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo on Thursday night where he spoke about the exchange.

During the interview, Fauci said there is “always a case of a kernel of truth” in what Paul says with regard to claims about protection against reinfection after recovering from COVID-19.

However, Fauci added, “He completely does not take into account the variants. He quotes literature which is selective in how he quotes it.”

Later touching on Americans being “tired” of “constraints” amid the coronavirus pandemic, Fauci declared, “We’re not saying doing this indefinitely. We’re not saying this is the way it’s going to have to be all the time. We’re saying that if you look at the data and look at the science, there is a chance that you can get in trouble if you pull back too prematurely.”

Watch Fauci’s comments below:

https://twitter.com/CuomoPrimeTime/status/1372720519242473477

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Paul said to Fauci on Thursday, “You’re telling everybody to wear a mask, whether they’ve had an infection or vaccine. What I’m saying is they have immunity, and everybody agrees they have immunity.”

He then asked, “What studies do you have that people who’ve had the vaccine or have had the infection are spreading the infection? If we’re not spreading the infection isn’t it just theater?”

“No, it’s not,” Fauci responded, before Paul added, “You have the vaccine, and you’re wearing two masks, isn’t that theater?”

Fauci responded, “Here we go again with the theater. Let’s get down to the facts.”

In case you missed it:

Paul suggested at one point during the exchange, “You want people to get the vaccine, give them a reward instead of telling them the nanny-state’s going to be there for three more years and you gotta wear a mask forever.”

“Let me just state for the record that masks are not theater. Masks are protective,” Fauci pushed back, adding that he “totally ” with Paul on the subject.